Rocket boost for Citivale after £53.5m industrial sale

The Rocket portfolio, which contains two properties in Yorkshire, was bought by Mileway in an off-market transaction.

The joint venture between York-based Citivale and Investcorp acquired the portfolio from LC Industrial in 2017 for £40m.

The portfolio properties, all of which have been managed by Citivale, are located in Batley, South Elmsall, Liverpool, Warrington, High Wycombe, Glasgow and Edinburgh. They are all close to key transport corridors.

The portfolio totals 692,000 sq ft of space across 58 individual units - four multi-let industrial estates and three single-let warehouses. The properties are 96 per cent let to a range of small and medium-sized businesses.

James Appleton-Metcalfe, the managing director of Citivale, said: “These are very exciting times for Citivale. For us, this significant deal represents a satisfactory conclusion to our Rocket portfolio joint venture with Investcorp and will allow us to plan positively for the future.

“Since we acquired the portfolio in late 2017, we have successfully asset-managed the portfolio to increase occupancy, drive rents and improve the physical estate and tenant base still further, making the most of a burgeoning logistics and distribution sector in the UK.

“We are proud to have realised the portfolio’s potential. The significant uplift in the quality of the Rocket portfolio is reflected in the price achieved in the off-market deal with Mileway,” he added.

Christopher Brogan, director at Savills, who advised Citivale and Investcorp, said: “The off market portfolio sale took advantage of strong investor demand and pricing for well-located regional single and multi-let industrial assets, underpinned by strong occupational dynamics and a continuing broadening of the traditional tenant base for the industrial sector.”

Gerald Eve advised Mileway.

Meanwhile, James Appleton-Metcalfe revealed that Citivale was now looking for more development and investment opportunities across the UK. He said: “We have a strong pipeline of deals ahead of us. Our combination of local and specialist knowledge, entrepreneurial energy and a professional, diligent and analytical style enables us to locate exactly the kind of commercial property that will increase in value.”

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James Mitchinson